Ever-So-Perfect
by Sparkleglacier
Summary: In a world where everything is darker, but looks brighter, the story starts differently. This time, Sasuke won't let anyone use him. A Naruto Dystopian AU
1. Chapter 1

His house is cold, dark, and filled with dust. It has been years since anyone has lived here with him. He wakes up, works, eats, and sleeps in total silence every day. He used to try and clean it, but it is too much, too big, and he can't stop the mansion from falling into disrepair. There used to be servants, but everyone avoids his compound now.

He does not blame them.

This morning is no different than any other. He gets ready for the day, then leaves his empty house for his even emptier compound. The buildings are even more abandoned han his, rotting away in the emptiness. At the gates, Sasuke stops, takes a deep breath, and exists into the light of day.

The streets are lined with colors, banners and posters and flags waving in the bright sunlight. People talk and laugh among themselves, going about their daily lives. Merchants promote their wares, children run and play, and everything is peaceful.

He sees the things they don't. The grime of the side alleys, the darkness in the sewers, the shadows watching from the rooftops.

People move around him as he walks to school, whispering and eyeing him in something like fear. He doesn't blame them. After all, he never smiles, never laughs, dresses in dark clothes, and is followed by a morbid and bloody past.

This are a little better once he arrives at the Academy. He still gets stared at, but the gazes are filled with admiration. He's always on top there, the best at everything, the one to be looked up to. The only one who doesn't seem to worship him is his closest friend, who loves to tease him over the littlest of things.

Naruto is his opposite in every way. Wild blond hair, bright clothes and a never ending smile. He is the bottom of the class the worst at everything, the one everyone avoids. Sasuke used to avoid him too, until _that night _happened. Now they are rarely apart.

They talk about stealth, about masks and how to hide. Their teacher takes them outside to practice in the shadows of the nearby forest, and Sasuke feels like he can breathe again. The shadows are his element, and the fresh air tastes like freedom.

He excels, hidden from even their teacher's sight. Naruto is the first one found, his orange clothes practically glowing in the dark.

Honestly, he could at least try.

Eventually though, they have to leave and go back into the muffled closeness of the classroom.

After school, he helps sort and clean the weapons, for a small pay. It's not much, but it's enough. It's almost soothing, the practiced motions simple and quick. He doesn't think about his empty home, the bright streets, or even the darkness of his own mind. He just polishes and sharpens and puts everything back in its proper place.

He has long decided that as soon as he gets a little bigger, he's going to learn to use a sword.

Naruto is waiting for him outside of the compound, bright smile undiminished in the setting sun. Sasuke ignores the extra shapes that have appeared on the nearby rooftops. He doesn't know why they follow his friend so closely, and it bothers him more than he cares to admit.

They can't follow them into the Uchiha compound. Too many ancient treaties and seals decorate the gates for that, but it doesn't stop them from haunting the entrance.

Once inside the ever oppressive darkness of his home, Naruto's smile finally falls away. Sasuke both prefers and hates the resigned expression on his face. On one hand, it's the truth, not the mask he wears in public, but on the other hand, he looks so much smaller and duller than usual.

"It's cold." Naruto says, as always.

"It's empty." Sasuke replies, as usual.

They don't speak again until they have finished eating their small dinner. As they watch the stars come out, Naruto quietly asks if he's found anything new.

"No." He replies, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky. "I can't get any further into the archives until I graduate. You?"

"There are more guards than usual. There are no new entries in the bingo books though."

Everything Naruto does is an act. The brightly colored, incompetent trickster is an act, an illusion made purposely to distract. The real Naruto is much more talented than anyone knows, able to slip and puzzle his way through the dark archives beneath the city, unseen by any guard or sentry. Sasuke was beyond shocked when he first saw this side of his friend. It still surprises him sometimes.

"You know… We are still kids. Even if we did find a weakness, what can we do?"

"Don't talk like that." Naruto scolds him softly. "We can do whatever we want. Even if we can't now, someday, this village will pay."

"I thought you wanted peace."

"Whatever it takes."

He agrees, as always. Both of them are the same, because the village has taken everything from them.

_All is for the village. Everything must be for the village. Follow the Will of Fire._

Whoever started this should, and would suffer. Before anyone else's life is destroyed.

They haven't always been friends. Before _that night, _Sasuke had been like any other clan child. Perfectly loyal, wanting nothing more than to serve his village and be the perfect example of a perfect ninja. He had scorned Naruto because every other person did the same. He loved his village, and did nothing to stand out or change.

_That night _had ripped away the happy illusion in the most brutal way possible. Perfection was nothing more than an ugly lie, and his loyalty had evaporated overnight. He saw everything for what it was, and the contrast was sharp enough to hurt.

Then Naruto had pushed into his life, and bundle of contradictions and advice. The blond boy loved the village as much as any other, yet hated it as much as Sasuke did. He would smile in genuine happiness, and frown in genuine anger. He hid everything and nothing, knew more than anyone and less than a child, hoped with perfect innocence and watched the world with jaded eyes.

Naruto taught Sasuke how to live again. The two held on to each other tightly, the only spots of light in a sea of lies. In the beginning, they made a promise to each other. A promise to always stay together, to someday overthrow the ever-so-perfect Will of Fire. They cut their hands and let the blood mingle, swearing to each other on a starless night.

It was stupid, and childish and suicidal, but Sasuke didn't care. Even if it was just the two of them against the entire world, they will make reality itself bend if that's what it takes.

Sasuke trains to be a warrior, another weapon for the village, one that will eventually turn and fight against what he was forged for. Naruto learns to hide and scheme, a dreamer that will serve his village in the most extreme way possible.

_I will become the Hokage! And when I do…_

_Everything is gonna change._


	2. Chapter 2

It was the day of graduation.

Sasuke had never looked forward to something this much in his life. It was a chance to leave the too small classrooms and finally learn something useful. He would, of course, be following the path that the village laid out to make their perfect soldiers, but it would be useful, all the same.

The written test is easy, the physical simple, and the jutsu test is not a problem. Sasuke does perfectly, he knows it. Naruto on the other hand…

Naruto is street smart, not book smart. Even with Sasuke trying to help him study, he just can't grasp the material. To make matters worse, his chakra control is completely non-existent. He can't perform even the simplest jutsu, no matter how hard he tries.

He fails.

He tries again.

He fails again and again and again.

Sasuke is at his wits end, because he refuses to imagine a future where Naruto isn't on his team. He doesn't think he could survive that. He knows that Naruto is the only thing keeping him from doing something regrettable.

So they sit down that night and talk. They go over the material, they meditate and practice control, they do everything they possibly can.

And Naruto fails the final test.

Naruto knows that Sasuke is angry. Sasuke is always angry, but this time is different because he's disappointed too. He can't blame him, because Naruto is just as angry at himself. Why can't he master this one thing? Why can't he understand what comes so easily to the others?

One of his teachers, Mizuki, takes him aside and smiles at him.

"It's ok" He says in an attempt at a soothing voice. "There are other options."

"Like being a cook?" Naruto asks, almost sarcastic and almost pleading.

"No, of course not. I meant that there are other ways to become a ninja." Mizuki smiles at him again, but this smile just makes Naruto feel cold and small.

"After all, something like you simply can't be allowed to stay a civilian."

They have one last class, in order to go over the last reminder of how the team system works. Iruka pauses, right before the end of class and says that, due to unforeseen complications, they have to wait until tomorrow to get their official teams.

Naruto doesn't show up.

Sasuke walks out of the school, new headband clenched in his hand, expecting to see his friend waiting at the gates. This is the point where Naruto will tell him something stupid in an attempt to be reassuring, and then maybe they can work out some other plan for the future, some way to stay together.

Except that Naruto isn't at the gate. He isn't in the park either, which is one one their regular meeting spots.

Something is wrong. Sasuke can feel it, ice gathering in the pit of his stomach.

Naruto isn't in the market. He isn't at the ramen shop he works at part-time, he isn't in the training grounds, he isn't even in his tiny apartment.

Sasuke scours around the edges of the Uchiha compound, desperately searching for any sign that Naruto was nearby.

He didn't come home with Sasuke last night, because one of the teachers had pulled him aside to talk to him privately. He should have waited for him, why didn't he wait?!

Naruto is gone.

It's his fault.

He doesn't do anything for the rest of the day, just sits in the rotting silence of his mansion. It hurts, almost as much as when… Almost as much as _that night_.

Why did the village keep taking things from him? What right did they have? Was this all just another service to the Will of Fire? Was this-

There are footsteps.

Nobody can enter the compound without Sasuke's permission, and there is only one person who he gave it too.

Sasuke is down the stairs before he knows what's happening, and there in the doorway is a familiar orange silhouette. Sasuke moves in front of him, questions burning in his mind, but stops when he sees his friend's expression.

It's blank. Empty. Large blue eyes staring at him uncomprehendingly.

"What did they do?" Sasuke whispers, almost afraid.

Something returns to Naruto's face at that. He blinks a few times, looks at Sasuke, then lifts up his hands.

There is a headband clenched in his fists.

Sasuke doesn't know what to say, so he watches Naruto's face, looking for any sign of what happened.

When Naruto finally speaks, it's in a whisper so low that Sasuke has to strain to hear him.

"Do you remember the story of the Nine-Tails?"


End file.
